JP7193397B2 - Coupling mechanism, reflector device and support unit - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a coupling mechanism and reflector device. In particular, the present invention relates to a connecting mechanism between a rod and a joint that support a reflecting mirror mounted on a space vehicle such as an artificial satellite.

In recent years, reflectors mounted on space vehicles such as artificial satellites are becoming larger. Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of combining a plurality of segmented mirrors as if they were a single mirror. When combining a plurality of segmented mirrors, it is necessary to perform rough adjustment so that fine adjustment of the plurality of segmented mirrors is possible.

Cryogenic Nano-Actuator for JWST Robert M. Warden

In Non-Patent Document 1, countermeasures against distortion are not sufficient, and when the length of the rod that supports the segmented mirror is roughly adjusted, there is a risk that distortion will remain in the connecting portion between the rod and the joint. In addition, there is a possibility that the accuracy of the mirror surface of the reflecting mirror may deteriorate due to the strain remaining in the connecting portion between the rod supporting the segmented mirror and the joint.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The main object of the present invention is to prevent residual strain at the connecting portion between the rod that supports the segmented mirror and the joint.

A connection mechanism according to the present invention is a connection mechanism that connects a rod having an elongated rod main portion and a rod end portion attached to an end portion of the rod main portion, and a joint joining the rod,
The joint is
a mounting portion for mounting the rod end portion, the mounting portion having a spherical contact surface in contact with the rod end portion;
The rod end is
One end portion is screwed into the end portion of the rod main portion, and the other end portion is provided with a joint portion having a spherical joint surface in contact with the contact surface.

In the coupling mechanism according to the present invention, the joint has a mounting portion formed with a spherical contact surface that contacts the rod end. Also, the rod end has one end screwed into the end of the rod main portion, and the other end has a joint portion formed with a spherical joint surface in contact with the contact surface. As described above, according to the connecting mechanism of the present invention, the spherical contact surface and the spherical joint surface are in contact with each other. can absorb the strain of the connection portion of the rod and the joint, and can prevent the strain from remaining in the connection portion of the rod and the joint.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a reflecting mirror according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a reflecting mirror device according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 3 is an external view of a rod and a joint according to Embodiment 1; FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 3; BB sectional view in FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing strain absorption in the coupling mechanism according to the first embodiment; FIG.

The present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each figure, the same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding parts. In the description of the embodiments, the description of the same or corresponding parts will be omitted or simplified as appropriate. Also, in the following drawings, the size relationship of each component may differ from the actual size. Also, in the description of the embodiments, directions or positions such as up, down, left, right, front, back, front, and back may be indicated. These notations are for convenience of explanation, and do not limit the arrangement, direction, and orientation of devices, instruments, or parts.

Embodiment 1.
*** Configuration description ***
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing reflectors 500 and 500a, which are examples of reflectors according to the present embodiment.
Reflector 500, 500a is specifically used for an optical telescope mounted on a spacecraft such as an artificial satellite. As shown in FIG. 1, the large reflecting mirrors 500 and 500a are formed by combining a plurality of segmented mirrors 100 and 100a as if they were a single mirror.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of reflector device 510 according to the present embodiment.
The reflecting mirror device 510 includes each of the plurality of segmented mirrors 100 that constitute the reflecting mirror 500 and a support unit 200 that attaches each of the plurality of segmented mirrors 100 to the support base 300 so as to be tiltable.
The support unit 200 includes a rod 10 and a joint 20 that are connected by a connecting mechanism 400 . The rod 10 has one end connected to the joint 20 and the other end attached to the rear surface of each of the plurality of split mirrors 100 . Specifically, the rod 10 is made of reinforced plastic with carbon fiber as a reinforcing material. The joint 20 is fixed to the support base 300 . The joint 20 is a component that joins the rod 10 . Specifically, the joint 20 is made of an extremely low thermal expansion alloy such as Super Invar.

A fine adjustment mechanism 31 for finely adjusting the split mirror 100 is provided between the rear surface of the split mirror 100 and the rod 10 . Each of the ends of the rod 10 is provided with a coarse adjustment mechanism 32 for coarsely adjusting the segmented mirror 100 .

The support unit 200 has a truss structure composed of six rods 10 . Alignment adjustment of the segmented mirror 100 requires fine adjustment with a driving resolution on the order of nanometers. Also, before fine adjustment, coarse adjustment is required so as to be within the stroke of fine adjustment. The alignment adjustment includes adjustment in the translational directions (three axes of shift) in the X, Y, and Z directions shown in FIG. 1 and adjustment in the directions of rotation (three axes of tilt) in the RX, RY, and RZ directions.

Coarse adjustment is performed by rotating the rod 10 by the coarse adjustment mechanism 32 to adjust the length between the nodes that constitute the truss structure, thereby enabling the alignment adjustment of the reflecting mirror device 510 that is the split mirror SUBASSY.

FIG. 3 is an external view of rod 10 and joint 20 according to this embodiment.
4 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 3. FIG.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 4. FIG.
A connecting mechanism 400 between the rod 10 and the joint 20 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG.

The connecting mechanism 400 is a mechanism that connects the rod 10 and the joint 20 .
Rod 10 has an elongated rod body 11 and a rod end 13 attached to the end of rod body 11 . The rod main portion 11 has a cylindrical shape, and a rod end portion 13 is screwed into each of its opposite ends. The rod end 13 is also called an end fitting.

Now, the coarse adjustment mechanism 32 will be described.
A coarse adjustment mechanism 32 is provided at each end of the rod 10 . The coarse adjustment mechanism 32 is implemented by a screw mechanism between the rod main portion 11 and the rod end portion 13 . The screw mechanism at one end of the rod 10 is right-handed, and the screw mechanism at the other end of the rod 10 is left-handed. Alternatively, the screw mechanism may be realized by a differential screw.

One end of the rod end portion 13 is screwed into the end of the rod main portion 11 . The one end is the end of the rod end 13 on the side of the rod main portion 11 . A threaded portion 131 is formed at one end of the rod end portion 13 .
In this way, since the rod end portion 13 is screwed into the rod main portion 11, by rotating the rod main portion 11, the length between the nodes constituting the truss structure, that is, the length of the rod 10 itself can be roughly adjusted. can be adjusted.
After that, by performing fine adjustment using the fine adjustment mechanism 31, the alignment adjustment of the reflecting mirror device 510 becomes possible.
After adjusting the length of the rod 10 , the rod main portion 11 and the rod end portion 13 are fixed by fastening with the nut 12 .

Next, the connection mechanism 400 will be described.
The rod end portion 13 has a joint portion 132 formed with a spherical joint surface 321 in contact with the contact surface 211 of the joint 20 at the other end portion. The other end is the joint 20 side end of the rod end 13 .
As shown in FIG. 4, the rod end portion 13 is formed with a working hole 133 for mounting the joint connector 14, which will be described later. A through hole 322 is formed in the joint portion 132 from the surface of the working hole 133 on the joint 20 side toward the joint 20 . Through hole 322 is formed along the axial direction of rod 10 .

The joint 20 comprises an attachment portion 210 to which the rod end 13 is attached. The mounting portion 210 is formed with a spherical contact surface 211 that contacts the joint portion 132 of the rod end portion 13 . Further, the attachment portion 210 is formed with a connection hole 212 into which a connector connection portion 142 (to be described later) is inserted. The connecting hole 212 is formed along the axial direction of the rod 10 from the contact surface 211 . The connecting hole 212 communicates with a through hole 322 formed in the rod end portion 13 .

The connection mechanism 400 includes a joint connector 14 that connects the joint portion 132 of the rod end portion 13 and the attachment portion 210 of the joint 20 .
The joint connector 14 includes a connector connection portion 142 that is fastened to the mounting portion 210 while passing through a through hole 322 formed in the joint portion 132 . The joint connector 14 also has a connector head 141 that stops at the edge of the through hole 322 . In other words, the joint connector 14 has a connector head 141 and a connector connecting portion 142 extending from the connector head 141 .

Rod end 13 comprises a spherical washer 323 between the edge of through hole 322 and connector head 141 . The spherical washer 323 is a washer that is divided into two stages, and the dividing surface forms a spherical surface (spherical surface).

Next, a process of connecting the rod 10 and the joint 20 will be described.
The operator brings the joint surface 321 of the rod 10 into contact with the contact surface of the joint 20 to allow the through hole 322 and the connecting hole 212 to communicate with each other. Then, the worker installs the spherical washer 323 through the work hole 133 . Then, the operator passes the connector connecting portion 142 of the joint connector 14 through the spherical washer 323 and the through hole 322 and engages the connecting hole 212 .
Through the connecting process described above, the rod 10 and the joint 20 are connected.

***Description of the effects of the present embodiment***
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the structure when distortion occurs in the coupling mechanism 400 according to the present embodiment.
Normally, when the support unit 200 is not distorted, the rod 10, the joint connector 14, and the joint 20 are arranged substantially linearly along the axial direction of the rod 10, as shown in FIG. However, when the length of the rod 10 changes due to rough adjustment, the rod 10, the joint connector 14, and the joint 20 are not arranged in a substantially straight line, and distortion occurs as shown in FIG.

In connection mechanism 400 according to the present embodiment, rod 10 and joint 20 are attached such that contact surface 211 and joint surface 321 are slidable. That is, since the joint surface 321 and the contact surface 211 are in contact with each other in a smooth spherical shape, they are slidable. That is, the joint surface 321 and the contact surface 211 can move smoothly. Here, a portion where the joint surface 321 and the contact surface 211 are in contact with each other in a smooth spherical shape is referred to as a first sliding portion 401 .
Since the coupling mechanism 400 according to the present embodiment has the first sliding portion 401, the distortion between the rod 10 and the joint 20 can be absorbed, and the distortion does not remain.

Further, in connection mechanism 400 according to the present embodiment, the diameter of connection hole 212 is larger than the diameter of connector connection portion 142 . Also, the diameter of the through hole 322 is larger than the diameter of the connector connecting portion 142 . Therefore, according to the connecting mechanism 400 according to the present embodiment, even if the axial direction of the connector connecting portion 142 is deviated from the axial direction of the connecting hole 212 or the through hole 322 due to strain as shown in FIG. The deviation can be absorbed.

Further, coupling mechanism 400 according to the present embodiment includes spherical washer 323 between the edge of through hole 322 and connector head 141 . A portion of the spherical washer 323 where the divided surfaces are in contact with each other in a smooth spherical shape is defined as a second sliding portion 402 . Since the coupling mechanism 400 according to the present embodiment has the second sliding portion 402 , even if the connector head portion 141 is tilted, the deviation can be absorbed by the spherical washer 323 . Therefore, according to the coupling mechanism 400 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, even if the connector head 141 is tilted due to distortion, the spherical washer 323 can absorb the deviation.

As described above, in the reflecting mirror device according to the present embodiment, even if alignment adjustment of the split mirrors on the order of millimeters is performed by the coarse adjustment mechanism, no distortion remains. Moreover, since the rod main portion and the rod end portion are fastened with nuts, there is an effect that the satellite launch load can be endured. Further, there is no need to use an actuator such as a motor, and the alignment adjustment can be performed simply and inexpensively by the rough adjustment mechanism.

***Other Configurations***
In the present embodiment, mainly the coupling mechanism applied to the reflector mounted on the satellite has been described. However, this connecting mechanism can be applied to any structure having rods and joints.

A plurality of portions of the first embodiment described above may be combined for implementation. Alternatively, one portion of this embodiment may be implemented. In addition, this embodiment may be implemented as a whole or partially in any combination.
That is, in Embodiment 1, it is possible to freely combine each embodiment, modify any component of each embodiment, or omit any component from each embodiment.

The above-described embodiments are essentially preferable examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, the scope of applications of the invention, or the scope of applications of the invention. Various modifications can be made to the above-described embodiments as required.

Reference Signs List 10 rod, 11 rod main portion, 12 nut, 13 rod end portion, 14 joint connector, 20 joint, 31 fine adjustment mechanism, 32 coarse adjustment mechanism, 100, 100a split mirror, 131 screw portion, 132 joint portion, 133 work hole , 141 connector head, 142 connector connection portion, 200 support unit, 210 attachment portion, 211 contact surface, 212 connection hole, 300 support base, 321 joint surface, 322 through hole, 323 spherical washer, 400 connection mechanism, 401 third 1 sliding part, 402 second sliding part, 500, 500a reflecting mirror, 510 reflecting mirror device.

Claims (7)

A connection mechanism for connecting a rod having an elongated rod main portion and a rod end portion attached to an end portion of the rod main portion, and a joint connecting a plurality of the rods,
The joint is
A mounting portion for mounting the rod end, which is a spherical contact surface in contact with the rod end and protrudes toward the rod end. a mounting portion formed on the face ;
The rod end is
One end portion is screwed into the end portion of the rod main portion, and the other end portion has a spherical joint surface in contact with the contact surface and recessed toward the rod main portion side. A linking mechanism with a joint formed on the side face of the joint . The connecting mechanism is
a joint connector that connects the joint portion of the rod end and the mounting portion of the joint;
The joint connector is
a connector connecting portion that is stopped by the mounting portion while passing through a through hole formed in the joint portion; and a connector head portion that is stopped by the edge of the through hole,
The rod end is
2. The coupling mechanism of claim 1, further comprising a spherical washer between the edge of said through hole and said connector head. The attachment portion is formed with a connection hole into which the connector connection portion is inserted,
3. The connecting mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the diameter of the connecting hole is larger than the diameter of the connector connecting portion. 4. The connecting mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the diameter of said through hole is larger than the diameter of said connector connecting portion. The connection mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rod and the joint are attached so that the contact surface and the joint surface are slidable. each of a plurality of segmented mirrors constituting a reflecting mirror;
a support unit for tiltably mounting each of the plurality of segmented mirrors on a support base;
The support unit is
The rod and the joint connected by the connection mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The rod is
one end is connected to the joint and the other end is attached to the back surface of each of the plurality of split mirrors;
The reflector device, wherein the joint is fixed to the support base. In a support unit that tiltably attaches each of a plurality of segmented mirrors constituting a reflecting mirror to a support base,
a rod having an elongated rod body and a rod end attached to each of the ends of the rod body by a threaded mechanism formed on each of the ends of the rod body;
a joint that joins the rods and to which both ends of the rods are connected;
with
The joint is
a mounting portion for mounting the rod end portion, the mounting portion having a spherical contact surface in contact with the rod end portion;
The rod end is
One end is screwed into the screw mechanism of the rod main portion, and the other end has a joint portion formed with a spherical joint surface that contacts the contact surface,
The support unit, wherein the screw mechanism formed at one end of the rod main portion is a right-hand screw, and the screw mechanism formed at the other end of the rod main portion is a left-hand screw.

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